Rylan channeled Snowstorm and dashed forward as quickly as he could. The priority was getting out of the hallway and into the room where the Boss was before it could use the terrain to its advantage. As if it could read his mind, the humanoid Elemental raised its right arm and pointed at him. Rylan narrowed his eyes as he perceived the surrounding mana's movements. He grabbed Silver Twilight's hilt with both hands.

Mountainpeak Swordsmanship, Final Movement: Mountain's Collapse.

The air in front of the Elemental shimmered. Then, it erupted into a burst of ice. It was as if an iceberg had suddenly appeared out of thin air before shooting toward Rylan with the power of an avalanche. The wave of ice completely dominated the hallway, leaving not even a centimeter of space between its ice and the walls and ceiling. Rylan clicked his tongue.

This is why I wanted to get out of the corridor.

Once the overwhelming wave of ice was within three meters of him, he swung his sword. The blade met the incoming ice cleanly as he circulated his mana to its newfound limits. Powered by the Sword Art, his Strength pushed against the avalanche to carve himself a path right through the middle of it. With nothing but his sword, Rylan split the icy wave in half, then dashed through the space to arrive in the room where the Elemental awaited.

Without even bothering to glance at the attack he'd just overcome, Rylan moved his mana.

Lesser Lightning.

"Wind Blades."

The lightning flowed along the blade, wrapped in rotating winds. It was as if his sword housed a miniature storm. The combination of spells crackled and rumbled, the air around it being drawn in. The Elemental tilted its head. Rylan grabbed the hilt with both hands once more. He needed to finish this quickly.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movement: Tempest Break.

He shot forward with Snowstorm. Large spikes of ice, each the size of a house, erupted out of the floor, but he avoided them all by stepping on the air as needed. After weaving between them with mastery, Rylan arrived before his opponent. Just as he was about to swing the blade down, layers upon layers of ice covered the Boss, creating a shell around it. Rylan smiled savagely and swung his sword.

The blade cut through the air, splitting the room's atmosphere, lightning crackling along its edge. The sharp winds around it only magnified the effects of the Sword Art, due to its very nature. The blade finally touched the layers of ice around the enemy. The impact shook the room itself with a loud sound, as if an unstoppable force had met an immovable object. The entire room vibrated as Rylan kept feeding mana and power into the Sword Art. After one long second, the ice cracked, only for the layer under it to collapse as well. The blade slashed through all resistance and met the enemy inside the broken, icy shell.

Rylan let out a breath and kept going. However, this time, the resistance was much greater. He narrowed his eyes. Was the Boss' durability so great? The mana around him moved, sending his perception into overdrive. Decisively, he stopped putting strength into the Sword Art and jumped up and backward with Snowstorm. Less than a second later, an icy spike rose from the floor and went right through where he had just been.

Floating in the air, Rylan watched as the icy shell collapsed to reveal the Elemental. Only, there was a much thicker layer of ice around it. At the level of the creature's neck, it was damaged and cracked, with a piece of it missing.

It used the outer layers to slow me down and focused its power on creating a thicker layer around it.

It was the correct judgement. Rylan smiled at his enemy, but the Elemental only met his gaze with an expressionless face. Its eyes still shone like beautiful diamonds. Still floating in the same spot as before, it raised both arms as the ice around it crumbled. The air around it rippled like water before it turned into solid ice, which quickly started to spread, as if the Boss were freezing space itself. Simultaneously, Rylan moved, lightning and wind still coating his blade.

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With Snowstorm, he managed to outspeed the freezing wave to circle around the Boss and swing his sword once more. The incoming ice shattered, but the pieces quickly started to join back together.

So that's how it is. What an annoying ability.

Still, that only made overcoming this enemy all the more worthwhile. Rylan let out a breath before clearing his mind completely. All stray thoughts were discarded. All that remained was the enemy in front of him. No matter what it did, he would overcome it. He couldn't stop here. He would win. That was all.

Rylan sped up even more, using his sword freely. Whenever he used the Stormcaller Sword Style, he would cast Lesser Lightning and Wind Blades around the blade. When using Sharpgale or Mountainpeak, he would use Wind Blades and Fireball. By weaving both spells and swordsmanship freely, he managed to get progressively closer to the Boss through the waves of frozen air and the ice spikes.

Once he landed his third attack, however, things changed. The Elemental started moving.

Still floating above the floor, it flew around and away from him, trying to widen the distance between them. In response, Rylan only pushed Snowstorm to its furthest limits, allowing him to keep up with the enemy. Sword Arts and spells were used freely. Hurricanes of fire scorched the stone walls and floor, melting through the ice around them. Lightning crackled and flowed along the water before it evaporated, landing on the Boss' frame. The floor rose in the shape of spikes made of stone and earth to try and pierce it, and once Rupture was cast, the topography of the Boss room changed entirely.

At the same time, Rylan's injuries piled up. No matter how much stronger he'd become, the Boss was still an enemy that would require the cooperation of more than a few teams of Fifth Circle Mages. Not only that, but the Boss room was also an enclosed space that favored the Elemental's area-of-effect magic and hindered Rylan's movements. Even though he adapted quickly, he still got inflicted with a few wounds.

The battle raged on. After about ten minutes, Rylan saw what he was looking for. An opening.

Right through the middle of four ice spikes coming at him from different angles, and the wave of freezing mana that supported them. A gap, almost minuscule. It was enough. Unhesitatingly, Rylan used Tempest Break to break through the attacks, powered by the miniature storm created by Lesser Lightning and Wind Blades. Snowstorm's speed fueled the Sword Art's power. Before the Elemental could create another ice barrier, Rylan's blade arrived upon its neck. Once the magic steel touched the Boss's 'skin', it immediately crackled. Letting out a breath, he kept going.

A moment later, the Boss's head went flying through the air.

But Rylan wasn't done. As soon as possible, he swung his weapon again, this time aiming for the creature's chest. The slash divided its upper body as it cut from shoulder to waist. Rylan slashed the monster's legs, then the divided pieces of its upper body. In a flurry of slashes and stabs, he destroyed the Boss's body even further, even if only to ensure his enemy was truly dead. Once the Elemental's body had lost all shape, the System notification finally rang in Rylan's head, making him stop.

He took a few steps back and looked at the ceiling, sighing.

Finally, it was over.

He lowered his gaze to look at what remained of the Boss. It looked like a pile of shaved ice. Shaking his head, he sheathed Silver Twilight and looked at the System message floating in the air.

[You have slain Frozen Sanctum's Boss, 'Frozen Elemental.']

[You have been rewarded with the Freezing Wind Bracelet.]

Rylan grinned and grabbed the silver bracelet floating in front of him, then put it on. At the same time, he willed for its information to appear.

[Equipment

Freezing Wind Bracelet

In a land of eternal ice and snow, this bracelet formed naturally out of the wind and mana. Marked by its birthplace, it empowers the wearer's ice and wind magics. It is exceptionally durable.

* Increases the effectiveness of all wind magic by 8%.

* Increases the effectiveness of all ice magic by 8%. Ordinary water magic isn't affected.]

Rylan nodded to himself. While it didn't suit him completely, wearing it had no downsides, and it was fitting for a piece of Equipment from such a Dungeon. Finally, there was one more thing he needed to check.

"System. Show me my Status Window."

Heeding his command, his Window unfolded in front of him. It had changed significantly since the last time he'd looked at it.

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